26. Daryl Morey describes his interest in using data to make predictions as "a cool way to be better than other people" (26). He then goes on to say that he "really liked being better than other people" (26).
Do you think a college Honors student is more likely to be a person who want to be "better than other people"? Is it likely that other people will think of Honors Program students in this way?
Do you think society would be better off if more people wanted to be better than other people?
Is that kind of competitiveness healthy both for individuals and society?
Or is it healthy for one but not so much for the other?
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26A: I don't necessarily think that a college Honors student is more likely to be a person who wants to be "better than other people" per say, I think that they are more likely to want to be better FOR other people. These are generally people who excel in their academics and want to pursue hard to achieve career paths. As for other people perceiving Honors students in this light, I think that it is a big possibility, but this is only because our minds are hard wired to compare ourselves to others, especially those who are what we would consider "better" than us.
ReplyDelete26B: I think in a lot of ways it would be because then we would have the best of the best competing for job opportunities like in medical field and research positions. These are careers where you would want the best of the best and not just mediocre.
26C: No, I do not think it is healthy for both individuals and society at the same time.
26D: I think it is healthy for society but so much the individuals. Because of the competitiveness, the best of the best are aiming for the same goal. However, not everyone in the world can do what they wanna do, especially if other people who are just as good or even better are going for that same thing.
-Glennon Selke
I have to agree that honors students do not necessarily want to be better that others, but they are often (unfortunately) labeled as if they do. On the other hand I also think that there are instances that honors students are going to feel that they have some elevated status over "normal" students. This could simply be pride they have in their accomplishment, or the honor cords they wear on graduation day.
DeleteThe real world is competitive. To have the best you have to be the best, so, if more people were competitive with things such as academics, the world would be inherently better.
I have to disagree to an extent. I think it is healthy for society, and for the individual as long as that individual's pursuit of being the best does not harm society or the individual.
-Zoie Newman
I do not agree with your statement. I believe that people are engineered toward self betterment for more selfish reasons. I think that if people want to be better for others it is because helping others makes them feel good. We live in a very competitive world where people are constantly trying to one up each other for personal reasons. So, I do not believe that it is wrong, but I believe that people want to be better for themselves, not for anyone else. Do you believe that students in the honors college have more of a drive for self-betterment than other students?
Delete-Reese Siegle
An honors college student is a hard subject to pin down. As this subject is human, it would be difficult to predict what they might be like. If forced to make a prediction, I do think that the average honors college student will, most likely, have confidence in their own academic abilities. This could be expressed as one thinking they are better than the other, but most honors colleges promote equality among its participants. I do not think an urge to be better than everyone else is healthy for a society nor an individual. This competitive spirit can put a strain on relationships, not to mention the stress that would take over a person's life. I think it would be the most healthy for both parties if instead we promoted a need to better oneself. I believe this attitude will continue to better society and its members.
ReplyDelete-Libby Revel
DeleteI agree that the subject of describing a large group of differing people is hard. Also, I agree that many honors students could be predicted to have confidence in their academic ability which could show itself in a sense of superiority. While this is more than likely not be the whole group, there are probably a few that follow this negative description. However, I do disagree that overall competition is a negative. I do believe that it can strain relationships when it there is an unhealthy amount, but a healthy dose can lead to advances in society. For example, more reliable vehicles which came from the need to be better than your competitor.
Delete-Megan Lewis
I do think that Honors students are more likely to want to be perceived as better than others, due to the simply nature of the fact that they choose to put in the effort to be an honors student. They decide to go above and beyond, to "be" better, or rather perceived as better either by colleagues, friends and family or their own self. I think some may perceive honors students as better, but my bet is that you will find more individuals intimidated by the fact rather than impressed or appreciative. Society, for better or for worse already thrives off of competition and is driven by the need to seem more appealing to a potential partner, and I believe progression would become stagnant if it lost one of its driving forces such as competition.
Delete-Trinity Whitehead
I like to think of honors students more as people who want to be presented with intellectual challenge, not as people who only want to do better than others. I feel like 'traditional' students are often intimidated by those who strive for academic prowess and are often quick to label honors students as people who think they are better than others. This label creates dislike for honors students stemming from jealousy. Traditional students often do not feel "good enough" for honors, or simply do not appreciate education in general, so those feelings turn into dislike for honors students. As for competition or wanting to do better than others, I think that mentality is good for progress in certain fields such as medicine, but in other fields it may just spark unnecessary conflicts. Wanting to improve the world with innovations and wanting to be better than something or someone are two different things. You can create something without having to be in a competitive conflict with someone, and that is exactly how I personally view competition: conflict. However, one can argue that without competition, we would not have progressed this far. That may be true to an extent but I think much more could be achieved with togetherness. Again, with the anti-"Us vs. Them" stance but I do find it to be more harmful than helpful, I digress.
ReplyDelete-Sam Ray
DeleteI believe there are a few factors that complicate this question. I would say that, overall, an Honors student would be more likely to want to better himself or herself. There may be a few different motives behind this, though. First, I think Honors students are probably more willing to become better for others—family, friends, and society. However, I agree that there may also be a slightly greater tendency for them to want to be “better than other people”. Honors students generally place higher expectations on themselves, and, because of this, it may be easier for them to compare themselves to others to see how they are progressing. I do not think this is the kind of comparison that leads them to degrade other people, but rather one that pushes them to keep growing.
ReplyDeleteIn question of other people viewing Honors students in this way, I would say it is likely that some people hold this perspective. From my experience with the amazing Honors students of this program, though, I think this is more due to the stereotype society places on students in Honors programs as well as the tendency to compare ourselves to others rather than the actual disposition of Honors students.
To say if society would be better off if more people wanted to be better than others is complex. I think this mentality can be unhealthy or even dangerous by itself. However, the drive behind it that pushes people to do their best can be beneficial, especially for society as a whole. While this drive or competitiveness can have healthy outcomes for both individuals and society, there is a fine line that we must be careful to observe so that we maintain a willingness to work with others and recognize their strengths and abilities.
-Bethany Bengs
A) While I do believe that other people likely view honors students as students who want to be "better than other people," I don't think that being better than others is the goal of most honors students. It is easy for people to compare aspects of their lives, such as their grades, their job, or their accomplishments to the people around them. But, I believe most honors students want to reach their goals for themselves. I believe that many, if not most honors students are motivated by the opportunities that being an honors student will create for them.
ReplyDeleteB) I think that in many ways, healthy competition can be beneficial for people. But, it can become difficult when people compare their lives behind closed doors to the lives that other people outwardly show. Social media especially can create an environment where people people only show the best looking versions of themselves. When we compare our personal struggles to the seemingly perfect lives of others, it can become unhealthy.
C) I believe that healthy competition can be beneficial for both individuals and society. But because of how easily competition can turn toxic, each individual should work to be careful not to give in to unhealthy competition. While competition can motivate many people, it can also become harmful for others. I believe that society as a whole would make progress if every person was trying to become their best self. For some people that may be through competition with others, and for some it may not.
-Reia Storch
I am not predisposed to think that Honors students think of themselves as superior to others. To be an Honors student means that you have a drive to succeed in all areas, academic or otherwise. That drive does not make us any better or worse than anyone else no more than being good at a sport or another event makes one person better than another. From the outside of the Honors program looking in it is easy to see why others my see us differently than we see ourselves. All the, shall we say, perks of the Honors program are certainly enviable, however, we must work hard to keep them. When society in general is brought into the equation things become muddier, as they inevitably do when so many different variables are considered. I will attempt make a not-so-general generalization to combat this problem. The phrase “better than others” suggests that one person is superior to another. Thinking of ourselves as better than or worse than another person causes far too much strife to be productive in our society today. Along with sewing derision between individuals, by thinking of oneself as above or below another we unconsciously alienate ourselves form others that we have placed outside our self-made caste.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that college Honors students don’t want to be better than everyone else, though it is possible for others to think of Honors students in this way. Most would think the worst of people, even if it’s just in the fact of someone wanting to be better than others. I really don’t think society would be better off, actually. There are so many issues with the world right now that could be fixed if more people put themselves in someone else’s shoes. Competitiveness can be healthy to a certain extent, but it shouldn’t overtake someone’s life to that extent. Especially when it affects a society. Competitive natures can’t work together in the world, and more people need to work together to make sure everything works out.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is that we, honor students, think we are better than others or that we want to be superior. I think it has more to do with us holding ourselves to a high standard, most people would be happy with an A- but we push ourselves to get that A+. Personally, the only person I am ever in competition in or striving to beat is myself. I constantly challenge myself to see how much more I can really achieve. I think that competition is healthy in moderation. without it in a society there would not be such a drive to find new answers, new medicines and cures, or new inventions. But it can be very toxic if it is not kept under control. Without competition, I do not think I would have accomplished nearly as much as I have without it helping to drive me.
ReplyDeleteThough I cannot speak for other honors students at ECU or another school or program, for me, being a college honors student isn’t striving to better than other people, but better than my past self. Being in honors helps me to set goals for my college career and better myself for others. I do find it likely that those who don’t participate in honors program could view those that do as a person who is, or strives to be, “better than other people”.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if every person was being to be better than the next, then society as a whole would benefit from this. If this was the outlook for every person, if not taken too far, it could lead to new discoveries and an overall smarter society. I by believe striving to be a better person than others this creates a healthy competition and an increasingly better society for all.
However, this could be taken too far, by verbalizing that one person believes he or she is better than another, instead of promoting healthy competition, it could promote a lack of self-worth and self-confidence. Again, however, this would depend on a persons view of themselves and of personality. While it could encourage some to become better, it could also cause negative affects in another.
I can not talk for every single Honors student, but I do know that at least a few students feel like they are better than other people. Whether this is from their being an Honors student or just them having a superiority complex, I do not know. However, the stereotypes of the "Honor Student" are of which the person is very arrogant and selfish, or the shy, unassuming one. Both are harmful. Both are very widely thought to be true (which they generally are not).
ReplyDeleteIndeed, competition can be extremely beneficial to society; everyone wants to be the best, so everyone will be better than they were previously than if they were not to compete. However, wanting to be "better" than other people, if not done precisely, can lead to mental health issues and result in a toxic environment. Preferably, people would strive to be the best, then if they do not turn out to be the best, they still feel good about what they have done and congratulate those who finished ahead. So yes, society could be better if people had more healthy competition.
Competitiveness is only healthy for so long. Once you reach the point of breaking down because you "are not good enough," you have gone too far. Truthfully, you should strive to do your best, not "beat" other people. Always trying to "beat" other people is not healthy for you, for the other person, or society. That is a toxic competitiveness, which could lead to cheating, which defeats the whole point.
Jealousy is a disease for both parties. Toxic competitiveness is damaging to not only relationships but also to the psyche.
I do not think that it is more likely for honors students to feel this way, in my own experience I have not felt this way, but sometimes even though I am a part of the honors program I feel smaller than the other members. I have never considered myself tremendously smart, so I must get used to the fact that I am surrounded by members who just want to help me. So yes, it is likely for others to think of the Honors Program Students this way.
ReplyDeleteYes, we should always want to be our absolute best, what would motivate us if we did not want to be the best of the best.
Competitiveness can be both. In my graduating class we had some of the most competitive people I have ever met. I was tremendously proud to be a part of that class. But sometimes when I felt “not as smart” it would tear my confidence down ,but once I realized that competition is good eventually I understood that it is not all about winning it is about putting yourself in the race.
Morgan Anderson
I think an honors student will strive to do more and be more involved than the average student but I do not think that they think of themselves as better. A good dose of healthy competition is good for motivation but not because you are trying to be better than someone. You just want to be the best that you can be and surrounding yourself with like minded people makes for healthy competition.
ReplyDeleteI think society would be better off motivation wise if people thought they were better than each but I do not think they would be better off attitude wise. It would keep people motivated to do things and to be the best that they can be. But on the other hand, people would think that they are better than another individual and that would be deadly to our society. Overall, competitiveness is good for the individual, but it is not good when you think you are better than somebody else.
I don’t believe that a college Honor student would want to be better than other people, but i think that they might have higher goals for themselves than other people who did not join the honors program. However, others might look at the Honors students as “overachievers,” or wanting to be better than others as said. A bit of friendly competition is a good thing, but if everyone in society wanted to be better than the next person, it would be exhausting. It wouldn’t be healthy for the individual. I personally think we should strive to be the best we can be, and not worry about if our neighbor’s grass is greener. For the society however, it might be a good thing in the sense of better employees. The people would be pushing themselves to have a greater output than the next person, and companies would have so many people trying their hardest at their jobs.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has different reasons for every decision they make. I don’t think being an honors student automatically means that those students see themselves as better. Although, one negative experience with an honors student that does can stereotype all honors students that way in someone’s mind. Being an honors student to me was about trying to strive for my best and to be successful for myself and my family. I think striving for success can drive innovation as long as it is done for others and not just self-satisfaction.
ReplyDelete—Kimber Farris
I believe that honors students do strive to be the best person they can be. However, they don't necessarily see themselves as better than everyone else. It could be possible that other people outside of the Honors Program think that honors students think they are better only because they are trying to better themselves in a way that other people aren't. This could also be because of jealousy. In addition, I think if every person in this society would strive to be better than everyone else, there would be a constant goal of wanting to be better, therefore the society would be better. In another sense, it could be parasitical because of how soft today's world is. If one person is becoming better than another, their self-esteem could be harmed and it could ruin the motivation to be better.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is different for every student in the Honors Program. I do not believe that since a student is in the Honors Program that it should make them automatically think that they are better than people who are not in Honors. I think that it could easily be perceived that Honors students do think they are better than others. Honors students could believe they are better because they are striving to be better, do their best, and be at the top. I think that if every person would strive to be better and do better every day, then this would help eliminate the idea that someone is better than anyone else.
ReplyDelete-Anna Herd
I believe that the question of whether or not an honor's student strives only to "be better" than other students falls onto the individual themselves. I think that, while honors students typically hold themselves to a higher standard, this doesn't necessarily mean that their motive is to be better than anyone else. While it may be the case for some honors students, I believe that many strive to be better than their own self, in order to continue growing and improving. I do think that competition is healthy because it encourages students to try harder and strive for more, however, I don't think that competition should be the main reason for wanting to better yourself. In the world we live in today, in order to become successful we need to be competitive. Like Dr. Benton explained at our honors lunch today, every professor we have on campus had to fight tooth and nail in order to be here. So, while we need competitive spirit, it shouldn't be the sole driving factor in why we make the decisions that end up benefiting us the most in the end. In some instances, competition can definitely benefit one individual more than the other. For example, in class rankings, the student placed #1 in the class will feel confident and sure about their decisions, while the student ranked last may feel like they're destined to fail and can never become more than their ranking defines them. I think that, as honors students, our overall goal is to better ourselves and future, but we understand that competition is sometimes necessary in the end.
ReplyDeleteEmiley Cole
An honors student is not likely to be a person striving to “be better than other people.” They are students who challenge themselves and desire to be better than they were the day before. As a member of the honors program, I have never believed myself to be “better” than other students. I take pride in my academic achievements and enjoy the challenges I face throughout my academic career. EQ classes at East Central University force students to communicate and think outside the box, which people like myself may find challenging. Students who are not in the honors program may view honors students as overachievers. In reality, people would not benefit from trying to be better than the next person. It would create unhealthy competition. Many people would consume their lives trying to out-do one another. On the other hand, competition would be healthy for society because people would create things bigger and better than the person before them. The action of being better than other people is positive for society and negative for the people residing in that society.
ReplyDeleteFTW
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that being in the honors college makes you better than anyone else. However, I definitely think that as students it is natural to think that your organization is the best and or most special. Other student outside of honors definitely view the honors students as self-righteous or narcissistic. I think that being in the honors program alone doesn’t make you a better student that anyone else; however, being in the honors college does give you more opportunities to do things that can make you “better” than other students. What makes you better than other students are what you do to really set yourself apart from everyone else. Some of the most influential people in our world’s history were people who disagreed with everyone else. Daniel Morey disagreed with everyone about the best way to choose a basketball recruit just like Aristotle disagreed with everyone about the shape of the Earth.
I think that society would be much better off if everyone was seeking self-betterment. Competition is the driving force behind development in our world, so it is important for society that we maintain a healthy level of competition. It is healthy for both of the individuals in society. The person who feels better than the other has likely made a positive contribution to society, and the person who feels like they are less than the other is more likely to better their self and work towards making a positive contribution to society. This vicious cycle of competition has led to development that has greatly increased out quality of life.
-Reese Siegle
To be honest, I don't think people are spending their time thinking about honors students. If there is a stereotype, I think the only people perpetuating it are honors students that are so sensitive to what people think of them that they spend time creating false narratives in their heads. Most of the honors students I've talked to have been chill, but there are a few of them that do try to let you know how smart they are, and it does make you wonder if they think they are better than you. Real intellectuals don't need to prove how smart they are by using a bunch of big words. Instead, they would show you through their actions and their ability to solve problems. Society would suck if everyone wanted to be better than everyone else. Focus on yourself and do your own thing. Why does it matter if someone has a college degree and somebody else doesn’t? Last time I checked, they are still a person, and we’re all going to die anyway. When you die, most, if not all, of your accomplishments will go to the grave with you. The only achievements that will remain are the ones that you did for other people.
ReplyDelete-Brandon Prine
26. I believe that a college honors student is more likely to want to be “better than other people.” Yes, I see college honors students as the overachieving minority in society that does not settle for the bare minimum. I think if society had more people that wanted to be better than others then society would be much more motivated to work creating a better life overall for many peoples. Competitiveness can be healthy for both individuals and society if the competitors can control emotions and behavior. I think individuals would benefit significantly more than society if more people were competitive healthily.
ReplyDelete26A: I believe that the traditional Honors student is a person looking to be more active in their college life through on-campus organizations in a more academically driven way. I do not believe that most students in the Honors program believe themselves to be better than other people, however, it is possible that the students not in the Honors program will believe that the title of being in “Honors” makes those select students better in some way.
ReplyDelete26B: Healthy competition is an excellent way to force people to strive to be better versions of themselves. This being said, I don’t believe that people wanting to be better than other people is a good thing. A lot of people, when trying to be better, do not want to put in the work to make themselves be a better person and instead choose to degrade people who are doing better than them or have qualities that they wish to have as well. In this aspect, I do not think that society would be better off and instead would be worse off than before.
-Lauren HerrNeckar
College honors students are almost all like this whether they realize it or not. If that were not the case, they would not be in the honors course different from “everybody else”. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing that automatically means that someone thinks they’re superior to other people because they would prefer to be in courses that are a little more challenging, but rather some people find certain things to be easier than “other people”. It isn’t a program that just anybody can get into and people who want difficult and competitive jobs make up a lot of the program. Unfortunately, some people outside of the program find it to be stuck-up and that the students involved believe they are superior students. Not everyone acts this way, but based on my experience in high school, other students would roll their eyes once they heard any conversation between two honors students discussing class work. I think that society would be better off with people who want to be better and work hard for what they want. They are people who don’t give up easily and tend to enjoy challenges and competitiveness. I think it is healthy for individuals since it can help them work harder, but it can be detrimental to society as it makes for an extremely competitive workforce and can make it harder to get certain jobs or divide the people to the point where they are uncooperative with each other.
ReplyDelete- Mindy Corbin
I do not think that a college Honors student is necessarily someone who wishes to be better than other people. They may be someone who wants a challenge, or simply wants to be involved. I think that it would be easy to place an Honors student in the category of a person who wants to be better than others, only because honors classes are more challenging and intense. I do not think that society would be better off if more people wanted to be better than others. I feel that it is important to acknowledge the importance of every individual, as well as striving to be the best version of oneself can be. I don’t think that that kind of competitiveness is healthy for individuals or society. Comparison usually doesn't result in a healthy mental state for individuals. Competition in society can be a good thing as it might inspire people to work harder.
ReplyDelete26 A) I do not think that college students set out to be “better than other people”. For me, being an honors student has always been about bettering myself, every day. If anything, I’ve tried to use my place in the honors program to help others and introduce opportunities to my peers, as well as always being open to hearing new advice. However, I have been in numerous situations where my peers have felt that they had to defend their reasons of why they aren’t in the program, and essentially do their best to remind me that just because I am in the honors program, I am no better/smarter than them. I believe that this is because people are very quick to assume that the students in honors all do believe that we are “better than other people”.
ReplyDelete26 B) I do not think that society would be better off if everyone wanted to be better than the next person. That sets a limit. Everyone should be solely focused on being better than who they were yesterday. Growing up an athlete, I focused on this point a lot. I never cared if I was the only one competing for my position, I was going to practice like I barely stood a chance. This concept should apply to everything in life. When you stop trying to be better than the next person and start being better than who you were yesterday, the opportunity for growth is limitless.
27 C) Always trying to be better than other people is not healthy for individuals or society because, as President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “comparison is the thief of joy”.
-madi wilson
I think that the average honors student will strive to do better than before. They also would want to do better than others. I think that if more people tried to be that way that it would help the society in one way and harm it in another. If everyone tried to be better than others, then we would be more advanced in society altogether. In the same way we would be harming society because of all the competition. I think that more people should try to be better, but not always better than others.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has spent a year in the East Central Honors Program, I believe there is some notion among the student body that Honors students believe they are “better” than everyone else. It is no secret that this program has exclusive classes, events, and opportunities. While completely unintentional, this does cause some divide between students who feel left out of these “perks.” I believe that students within the program itself do not think or act in a way to belittle other peers. In terms of society as a whole, I do not believe people should want to be better than other people. I believe that working hard and competing to accomplish your goals is something to be admired but working to be seen as better than fellow human beings is a flawed mindset. Every human regardless of past experiences, race, gender, economic status, or home is still human at the end of the day. You can compete against other and accomplish great things but that does not lower the value of those who lost. – Preston Milligan
ReplyDeleteCollege honors students are individuals who have already achieved higher standards than others in high school, hence their ability to be a part of the honors program. Excellence is essentially a habit for us. So, we are constantly trying to do the absolute best or at least, be better than average. So yes, it is quite likely that honors students would want to be better than other people throughout their lives because they've been doing so for some time already. Even among ourselves in class during discussions in particular, the way that we bounce off of each other, going back and forth adding to the conversation, sharing our knowledge with one another, that in itself can be seen as wanting to be better than others.
ReplyDeleteApplying to be a part of the honors association can be for a number of reasons but one of the reasons can be that it sets us a part from others. We are a group of students that are selected based on superior grades, scores and our ability to articulate our thoughts. So therefore applying to be a part of the program, implies that you do think you're better than others to some extent. It is definitely likely that others would think of Honors Program students as being better than others. Again, the application process and the requirements needed to even apply and then the selection process all exhibit the idea that students in the honors program are better than other students.
In a sense, wanting to be better than others can be a good thing because persons would probably contribute more to society by working harder to get this job or this raise, start this business, produce this product and make it better than the rest. In this case, the competitiveness is healthy both for individuals and society. But at the same time, society does need persons to be average or below average and to be content with that because as we all know, everyone can't be at the top with a capitalist system. If everyone were trying to be better than the other and get to the top, it would be much harder to function as a society because persons would not settle for jobs that are less respected and lower paying, although having individuals in these spots is necessary for society to function. So in this instance, it might be good for the individuals but for society.